Brave Shot

The title was Square Enix's first foray into the North American mobile gaming market, and it was followed by a run and gun sequel, Brave Shot 2, in September 2005. Reviewers praised the game's graphics and exciting gameplay, but criticized the simplicity and uneven difficulty. Reviewers took the game as a positive sign of Square Enix's plans in the mobile gaming market.

• Title — Brave Shot • Developer — Square Enix • Publisher — Square Enix • Series — Brave Shot • Released — Brave Shot December 10, 2003Brave Shot 2 September 2005 • Genre — Brave Shot Scrolling shooter Brave Shot 2 Run and gun game • Modes — Single-player • Platforms — Mobile phones

• Illustration — A screenshot of Brave Shot 2 Brave Shot is a vertical, 2D top-down shooter, in the style of a bullet hell, in which the player controls a fighter aircraft who must destroy enemy alien ships appearing from the top of the screen. Waves of enemies appear, and the player must dodge their fire while destroying them. Since mobile phones cannot register more than one button input at a time, an auto-fire feature is present to allow the player to move while shooting. As a result, there is no strategic decisions to be made in deciding when to shoot or not, only in how to dodge and aim at the enemies. The player's weapons can be upgraded with more powerful blasters, which fire two additional shots at an angle, and bombs. Boss ships appear regularly and are large enough to fill the major part of the screen. There is no plot in the game; the player simply fights back against alien ships. Brave Shot 2 is a 3D run and gun game in which the player controls a future soldier against robotic enemies. The soldier rides a hoverboard in a side or over-the-shoulder view, depending on the level, and fights against a cybernetic army. Like the original, the waves are broken up by giant bosses to fight through. The hoverboard is continually moving, and the player can aim the gun in 45-degree increments all around them. The player character's hitbox is small, resulting in the soldier only being hit, thus ending the game, if he is hit in the torso. In addition to steering the hoverboard, players can jump and crouch. Enemies appear from all sides of the screen, and unlike the previous games there are no weapon upgrades.

Brave Shot was released after Square Enix signed an exclusive agreement with Verizon Wireless to offer their mobile games on the Get It Now download service. It was announced on December 10, 2003, as both the first game released in the partnership and Square Enix's first mobile game to be released in North America. It was released, according to IGN, "with little fanfare", though it was showcased a few months later at the Los Angeles E3 in May 2004. Brave Shot was followed by a sequel, Brave Shot 2, in September 2005. It was released on Verizon's V Cast mobile phone sales platform.